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Category Archives: Simplicity

Chaos is easy to create. Eliminate judgment, eliminate priorities, and you’ve set the stage for a good dose of chaos.

Chaos is seductive. It gives the appearance of action while preventing forward progress.

All the planning, all the preparation, all the foresight…none of it will prevent chaos when we give it control.

Chaos provides excellent camouflage for mediocre results.

After all, how can I be held accountable when all around me is chaos? If I’m able to deliver any results amidst all the chaos, I’m a hero. It doesn’t matter if my results are of the highest quality or even the desired quantity.

Look around you. Is your work environment chaotic? What about your personal time? Chaotic?

Is all this chaos creating a positive environment for the changes you want, or is it sapping energy and stopping progress?

The secret to chaos is that you own the choice. You decide how chaotic your life is. You have the power over chaos, even when it appears that chaos is in control.

When you choose your priorities, choose what gets your attention, choose what to ignore, and choose what to eliminate, you take back control from chaos.

Be careful…

As you consciously take steps to eliminate chaos, you will be held accountable for the results you should be producing, instead of the results you sneak past all the chaos.

In the end, living in chaos is easier than being truly effective…probably why so many people choose it.

Humans are more sensitive to the suck than the awesome. We thrive on the negative. Bad news travels fastest. We assume and discount good news, so we don’t put much effort into spreading it…even to ourselves.

Measuring the suck is arbitrary and subjective. Something that sucked only 1% last week may suck 95% today when that 90-minute commute causes you to miss your daughter’s award ceremony.

Are you considering a job change? Just thinking about it means you’ve decided that the suck ratio is getting too high in your current job. So, a new opportunity or a new direction seems like a good idea.

The new opportunities have their own suck, whether you choose to see it or not. Sure, they have things you appreciate, but it’s easy to overvalue the good stuff and minimize the parts that suck.

It’s human nature to see only the “good” stuff that’s happening over there…and see only the things that suck, happening here.

The grass usually isn’t greener over there (wherever “there” is). It’s usually just another shade of green that looks greener today. The suck ratio is in play over there just as much as it is where you’re standing.

Does this mean we should never change jobs or career paths? Hardly. But, it’s important to keep some things in mind:

Every job has a suck ratio.

It’ll take a lot longer than you think to get good at your new job. Even longer before you become great at it. Until then, it’s suck ratio will be higher than you like.

It’s hard to see the suck from the outside. Suck only shows itself once you’re on the inside when it’s too late.

Don’t measure the suck every day. Suck measures are only accurate over the long-term.

It’s easy to find something that sucks today if we look hard enough. It’s just as easy to find something that’s awesome.

The effort we put into the search for suck or awesome dictates the one we find the most. That’s true for jobs, too.

I turned 50 a while back. Although it’s just a number, it’s a big milestone. Hopefully, it’s a halfway point. During my first 50 years, I’ve learned some things and here they are in no particular order:

The quest for the Holy Grail is all about the quest, and less about the Grail.

Soft tissue injuries are much harder to get over than you think.

Execution is all about preparation. Prepare well, and you’ll be able to execute when called upon. Wing it and your execution will be a crap shoot.

Preparation is difficult and requires discipline. Building and maintaining discipline is one of the greatest challenges in life.

No matter how smart, strong, tough, fast, or independent you think you are. You aren’t.

Nearly everything is easier said than done.

Just because you can watch someone do something doesn’t mean you know anything about what it takes to actuallydo that thing.

Doing is the key to enjoying. Stop talking about it. Stop thinking about it. Stop procrastinating. Stop making excuses. As Nike said so well, Just Do It! You’ll probably suck at it at first, but so does everyone else.

The real “99% and 1%?” Ninety-nine percent of people will try something, suck at it, and quit. One percent will continue the struggle (see discipline above), and incrementally improve. They may even continue long enough to become a master at it. Another variant: only one percent will try something, and the other ninety-nine percent will focus on explaining why they can’t or won’t.

Whenever I’ve become the most anxious in life, I usually realize that I’ve skipped exercise or going outside to play for more than a week (it happens more often than I care to admit!). Exercising and playing are the best ways to build a foundation of clarity and calm.

Another thing I’ve noticed when I’m most anxious is that I’ve probably pushed gratitude out of my mind. When your mind is filled with gratitude, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for other things like anger, frustration, or negativity (this also happens more often than I’d like).

Vacations are nice. Travel is nice. Seeing exotic places is nice. But, there’s nothing like creating a life at home that doesn’t require a vacation for happiness. Vacations should be icing on the cake.

Every person who lives in the US should spend at least two weeks in a foreign country…preferably when they’re young. That way, the lessons they take away from the experience can be applied early in their life. Something I’ve found from traveling to at least 10 (maybe more) foreign countries is that the US is like Disneyland. Even compared to modern and thriving countries, the standard of living in the US is noticeably higher. It is easy to take all these differences for granted, or to be truly ignorant of them…until you spend time in a foreign country.

Tom Petty had it right: The waiting is the hardest part. Everything in life takes longer than you plan in your head. That’s probably because we plan and think in our head for a long time before we spring our thoughts on the “world.” Or, things just really do take a lot longer than we think they should.

Jobs become obsolete (and so do certain companies). People don’t (and neither do companies) unless they allow it.

The best way to avoid obsolescence? Continuous learning. Continuous exploration. Saying yes more.

Save early and often in your life. Those savings will yield a huge amount of freedom later in your life.

In the struggle between service and earnings, choose service every time.

The most beautiful sound in Nature is uncontrolled laughter.

The most beautiful sight in Nature is the smiling eyes of someone you love.

“Thems was fightin’ words” in our house when I was a kid. If mom ever heard us utter those two words, she had a list of things for us to do. We learned quickly to find things to do for ourselves, since mom’s list was definitely not a fun list (toilets, folding clothes, raking leaves, etc.).

I remember one summer, probably the one between 7th and 8th grade. Our little crew had a solid plan every day. It usually involved taking a mid-day “break” to watch Get Smart at Denis’ house. I’m pretty sure they ran two episodes, back-to-back. So, that took care of about an hour of entertainment. The rest is a blur of football games, hide-and-seek, swimming at Marty’s, riding bikes, and just about anything else that would keep us from having to say, “I’m bored.”

I suppose it’s all those years of training, followed by “advanced” training in college, and then even more in the work environment.

Stay busy.

Keep moving.

There’s always something to be done.

Don’t be lazy.

If you aren’t busy, you better at least look busy.

Where’s your work ethic?

Aren’t you dedicated to this cause?

Focus on the task at hand!

Don’t be boring (even worse than being bored)!

Somewhere along the way, a lack of movement, or a completed task list, started to equate with the dreaded “b” word. Somehow, a lack of movement turned into an example of laziness.

Is it even possible to do nothing and be at peace with it? Or, do we have to tell ourselves that this momentary lack of movement is just a quick break before returning to another of life’s endless tasks?

When did doing nothing go from being a peaceful state to one of guilty boredom…or worse, an example of our laziness? When did life become a task list?

The next time I’m faced with the challenge of doing absolutely nothing, I hereby promise myself that I won’t be bored (or guilty about my laziness).

Maybe it’s all the close calls, existential threats, newly-invented liabilities, newly-minted regulations, new competitors, old competitors, angry customers, happy customers, former customers, new customers, potential opportunities, new ideas, new methods, better mouse traps, and everything else that comes our way in business (no matter the size).

Maybe it’s the fight-or-flight instinct that gets honed to a fine edge through years of experience. Knowing when to hold ‘em, and when to fold ‘em…but always allowing room for doubt. Knowing when the silent customer is more important than the loudest one. Knowing that the employee you don’t see is just as important as the one you do see. Knowing we always have a competitor, whether we realize it or not.

Maybe it’s that standard defensive posture that every business assumes at times, even when it knows that only a strong offense will win the day. Understanding that this isn’t a game we get to win every day.

Maybe it’s just fear of failure, or more likely, fear of success.

Whatever it is that stops me from getting the most enjoyment from this business…now is the time to let it go.

Life is way too short to let the small stuff get in the way.

Here’s my promise to myself:

I will go on offense, every day

I will acknowledge my fears, but only if it helps create a stronger offense

I will focus on the next step forward, and let the past remain there

I will create opportunities for those around me

I will love and serve

I will let go

I will enjoy each day as the gift that it is.

I will do these things as a promise to myself, knowing that I’m not the One who is in control.

I saw this on a license plate frame. When I first saw it, I didn’t give it much attention. Then, as I sat at the red light, staring at those four simple words, I realized how freeing they are.

Relax, you’re doing fine.

You aren’t as far behind as you thought in the “race” of life. In fact, life isn’t a race at all. There’s no prize at the end for getting to the finish line faster than the other people.

You’re living in a great time. Why is it so great? Because it’s your time. It doesn’t matter what else is happening. The fact that things are actually happening, and you are here to see, participate, and have an impact is all that matters. What impact? That’s up to you.

What you do, how you do it, and the pace you choose are up to you. I recommend you take advantage of your limited time on the planet. Start moving, stay moving, always learn, and never stop teaching. But, that’s just me. It’s up to you and no one else.

Not as happy as you’d like to be? Not as fulfilled as you’d like to be? Worried that life is passing you by? Worried that you aren’t as rich, pretty, strong, tall, smart, stylish, successful, or any other measure society places on us, as you’d like to be?

We all have the same seconds, minutes, and hours every day. Our ability to define our time by the people we help, and the smiles we coax into the world are the only things we control. The rest is going to happen with or without our involvement.

Enjoy your time. Let someone else worry about all that other comparison stuff.

If you’re like me, you know the only way to turn at the end of Main Street USA is left. Left, toward Adventureland, and New Orleans Square. Sure, you could go for one of the “speed” rides like Space Mountain over in Tomorrowland. Buzz Lightyear (Astro Blasters) is a good one. Or, maybe Thunder Mountain. The Matterhorn is re-opened, if you like to have your spine compressed (not sure why they didn’t fix that problem during the most recent refresh).

But, the best rides are definitely in Adventureland. The Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion. Don’t even get me started on how awesome Tom Sawyer’s Island is.

The Jungle Cruise is all about the puns. Indiana Jones is (mild) sensory overload and a neat cave walk to and from the ride. The Haunted Mansion is a cross between Tim Burton’s vision of the world, and old school special effects that are still cool.

The best of all is Pirates!

First you’re in a New Orleans bayou. Crickets are chirping, a few frogs are croaking quietly, and fireflies dart about. It’s dark, quiet, and lazy. The swamp guy sits on his porch, smoking a corn cob pipe. The sound of slow banjo picking comes from his house. Do swamp guys have CD’s? Electricity? Does he have a banjo-playing friend in the house? Then, total darkness, a quick drop, and we enter a pirate’s lair. It’s clearly seen better days. Tons of treasure gather dust and cob webs.

I’ve never known what a New Orleans bayou has to do with being in a pirate’s lair, but over the years, I’ve learned it doesn’t matter. “Dead men tell no tales!” Just as you figure out that all the riches and treasures in the world didn’t do these dead pirates any favors, a foggy curtain projects an apparition of Davy Jones, warning us about the cursed lives of pirates. Our boat ignores the warning and carries us into this cursed world.

We enter a pitched battle between a pirate ship with cannons blazing, and the shore defenses firing back. It’s a desperate battle with explosions and lots of yelling. Somehow the shots never hit anything vital, or do they? The battle rages on, but we pass safely under the line of fire.

The harbor comes into view. Not just any harbor, but a “Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a pirate’s life for me,” harbor from long ago. Pirates are drinking and singing. Some of the less fortunate are dunked endlessly in a well. A vain search for Captain Jack Sparrow. Others are sold as brides. We see drunk pirates singing to themselves and no one in particular, scheming ways to find more treasure.

The scene shifts again to a prison where the only hope of escape lies in convincing a dog to give up the keys. The dog never budges, but always looks like he might. Hopefulness mixed with despair. If only the prisoners would realize that their only salvation is to find a new strategy, a new direction. Of course, they never make this connection. We slowly pass under a collapsing ceiling, and back into the harbor.

The town is ablaze, but nobody cares. We know the flames spell disaster, but that’s lost on everyone in the scene. They continue to drink, sing, and chase each other in a search for the next moment. Some fire randomly across the water at their friends. “Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a pirate’s life for me!”

The dichotomy of the celebratory singing and the evil that humans do to one another isn’t the point…or, maybe it is. All the while, our boat floats lazily through the scene.

We begin our slow climb out of this cursed world as Jack Sparrow tell us to, “Drink up you laddies! Yo Ho!”

What makes this ride so popular? Definitely not the speed. Is it the “escape” into another world? Maybe. But, is it really an escape?

Each of us can relate to being the pirate. We’ve been dunked in the proverbial well…sometimes we do the dunking. We’ve fired aimlessly at our enemies (and our friends) at one time or another. Oblivious to the pain we may cause. We’ve focused solely on the now. Ignored the future. We’ve looked for treasure. Maybe we’ve found it…and yet, our search continues.

Are we nothing more than passengers on the boat, passing lazily through the scenes of life, yet never connecting to any of it? Hopefully not.